Interchangeable
by MerhppDerhpp
Summary: Then the question, "Why do you want to be a Hero?" is brought up. Which is, like, mad rude because she's not supposed to lie or say that it's low-key because she's being emotionally blackmailed. But Kou manages to come up with, "The Power of Friendship and Family is a pretty great reason, right?" and calls it a day. [Semi-AU/Canon AU. Grey OC.]
1. Rainbow Belts

**A/N:** I've got intense ambitions but we'll see how it goes. Anyway, there's swearing, modern-ish slang talk (which is surprisingly fun to write), multiple OCs (but not too many, I hope), cases of deliberate OOC due to the existence of OCs and doing things like creating dynamics (I'll still try to keep the spirit of their character intact), plot, subplots and questionable morality. (Still undecided about romance.) So, yeah. Enjoy?

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✖‿✖

* * *

"So, apparently, armband tattoos that're solid black are, like, meant to symbolise mourning or something."

Riku elicits a long, drawn-out sigh as though he's internally questioning his eternal friendship with her and why he ever listens to anything she says. (It's because he doesn't have a choice in the matter, but she's pretty sure he already knows that.) "Fantastic, Kou," he deadpans, pushing up his rimless glasses in order to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Who the fuck are we mourning, then? Each other?"

She glances down at her right bicep, where three thick bands of solid black have been tattooed onto her pale-ass skin. Though it's still fairly recent, her skin's healed much faster than Riku or Aoi's; mostly because it's not that hard to use her Quirk to speed the process along. Minor wounds don't cost as much energy.

"Well, I mean, we could just stick with the original intent and ignore this fascinating tidbit of information," Kou returns, lifting her arm and admiring the way it calls attention to the definition of her muscles. Much cool, very nice. "Right, Aoi?"

"Yes," Aoi quietly agrees, not bothering to look at her because staring at the strangers around them is more interesting. He absently adjusts the earphone that's about to fall out of his elf ear and she picks out a white bit of fluff that's clinging to his hair. Really obvious against the denim blue shade, so it's been bothering the shit out of her. "Though, we can say that we're pre-emptively mourning one another in case any of us die in the future."

"That's fucked up," Riku frowns, leaning forward to grab his Grape Fanta from the table, "but admittedly plausible. Considering our aspirations, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of us dies before we reach the age of forty. It'd probably be better to just stick with the sappy truth, though." He elicits a put-upon sigh at this, as if it's such a great burden to his being. "Saying that we got matching tattoos because we're waiting for each other to die is depressing and weird."

As she devours her fourth cheeseburger, Kou nearly snorts it out and earns herself a vaguely disgusted sneer from the best buddy-pal sitting across from her. "What, sappy? Is the Power of Friendship and our combined badassery not manly enough for you, man?" After the finishing bite of her burger, she smiles at him ̶ also known as baring her upper teeth because genetics dictated that she would be born with a literal smile stuck to her face ̶ and hopes there's nothing in between her teeth. She checks with her tongue, anyway.

"You disgust me." He flicks a French fry at her in retaliation for her sass and uncouth behaviour. The joke's on him because she catches it in her mouth and proceeds to steal the rest of his French fries. This then forces him to start an impromptu staring competition to establish dominance; Riku's Resting Bitch Face against Kou's Perpetually High Face. He will, of course, lose; they both know that she doesn't need to blink as much as he does.

However, he's saved from the bitter clutches of inevitable defeat when Aoi interrupts their battle with, "Bakugou also passed the entrance exam, right?"

At the mention of his cousin, Riku's natural frown becomes even more pronounced. "Unsurprisingly," is his eventual answer, glancing at a woman casually walking by. A child clings to her leg and hisses at anything that moves; which is everything, because they're at a food court. The little spawn hisses at him as well, and soon realises its mistake when Riku narrows his eyes at it in challenge. "He came first. No fucking Rescue Points, either; typical. I managed to tie for second with some other dude, though. What's actually surprising is that Izuku actually managed to place seventh with only Rescue Points."

"Who?" Kou questions, just as her phone vibrates and she pulls it out to check her inbox. She's greeted with the familiar, beloved image of Derp-Faced Pug Puppy as her phone screen lights up before she types in her password.

" _Deku,_ " Riku clarifies with a hard sigh. "The dude with the unruly hair and freckled face that Katsuki irrationally abhors because he's an egotistical asshole."

"Ah," she snaps her fingers in recognition, "that's right. I forgot his actual name. He has the green hair, right?" Or, well, darker green hair. Riku's hair is lighter ̶ fern-green, if she's to be specific, because she knows about the colourful shit ̶ and notably longer despite how often he hides it underneath his hipster beanie. Less curly and all that, too; more, the tips of his hair spike out against his will and make him look like a taller, tanner, green-haired version of his mother. "I thought he was Quirkless? Didn't you have to, like, fight giant robots?"

 _ **Today,**_ _2:21 pm_

 _ **Pop Rocks:**_ _Bought Dead Punches 2. Be here in an hour, bitch, I'm going to fuck you up this time._

Of course, it's Pop Rocks issuing another challenge because he's a salty bitch who can't accept that she's superior at video games. It helps that she doesn't destroy her controller via sweaty hands of nitro-glycerine or whatever, nor have a tendency for hilarious rage-quitting once he's reached his limit of losing for the day. She's pretty sure that he'd make a tradition of throwing down the gauntlet in real life, but Mitsuki-oba would kick the shit out of him for instigating brawls inside the house.

(It's, like, the main reason why she rarely agrees to go places with him, really; she takes a tremendous amount of joy in denying him a proper rematch. His ever-present petulance with Kou's existence gives her life.)

"He is, and we did," Riku says in answer to her previous question. Kou lifts her head to watch him frown down at his empty burger box like it's done him some kind of baffling personal offence. He does that with most things, actually. She should probably buy more food soon or she'll be doing the same to her own burger boxes. "Not that I'm pissed off or whatever; I'm actually pretty fucking pleased he managed to shove it in Katsuki's face." Leaning back in his seat, he absently scratches his right eyebrow with his thumb. "It's just unexpected. What kind of fucking heroic deed did he do to warrant sixty Rescue Points?"

Kou hums, leaning back and bringing up one of her legs onto the seat; Aoi shifts her knee a little to accommodate the change before letting it rest on his thigh. "Maybe he rescued someone from getting crushed by one of the robots? It's bound to happen every so often," she offers after devouring a handful of French fries. "Either way, Pop Rocks was mad pissed when he heard. Was like, 'the fuck would UA want with a Quirkless cum stain like him?'"

Her phone vibrates again.

 _ **Pop Rocks**_ _: Don't you fucking ignore me, Head Change._

Her amusement must be clear on her face, since Riku sends her a frown whilst his glasses glint dramatically in the light. "You're talking to the dickhead now?" When she looks up to meet his eyes with an inquiring brow, he hisses through his teeth at her. "Your eyes light up, all fucked up and shit; like you're amused that a dog successfully did a trick," is his sneering explanation as he fixes the placement of his beanie. "It's deranged and if I didn't know you, I'd never fucking go anywhere near you. You radiate creep vibes everywhere enough normally, let alone when you have that kind of expression."

With a laugh, Kou types a response to Pop Rocks before he starts bombarding her with messages. Boy's mad impatient. "Luckily, you _do_ know me," she replies as she stares down at her phone, "which means that you're forever tied to me because I'll never let you go, _best buddy-pal._ "

 _ **Head Change:**_ _At the mall with my best buddy-pals._ ◕3◕

 _Guess you're going to have to wait a while._

(｡◕‿◕｡)

"That's fucking ominous; the fuck's wrong with you?"

Aoi tilts his head, then; a sure sign that he's decided to join in on the conversation. "Is that a serious question or is it rhetorical?" he inquires, sliding his gaze from the crowd and towards the caustic teen sitting across from them. "Either way, I have a list of symptoms in regards to Kou's mental health. If you're genuinely interested, that is."

Which, he actually does, because he's a beautiful, blue-devil boy. A beautiful, blue-devil boy that spends an inordinate amount of time taking note of the world around him to formulate detailed observations about everything. She's fairly sure that he has hundreds of lists about random shit that she'll never be able to understand in any form. What Kou _does_ know for sure, though, is that he has a rather large file compiled of her different facial expressions, favourite foods, different types of laughs and other obscure shit like that.

He's great, really. If she ever forgets her favourite food, he'll be around to back her up with her top ten.

 _ **Pop Rocks**_ _: Hour and a half, or I'll kill you._

 _ **Head Change:**_ ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ _Practice in the meantime, scrub._

 _You need it._ (ﾟヮﾟ)

 _ **Pop Rocks:**_ _Fuck off. I'll ruin the shit out of you._

 _And tell that bitch-ass Riku to get more milk. Old hag forgot to get more._

She turns off the screen and pockets her phone as Riku nudges his glasses up to rub his eyes. It's amazing how such a simple gesture can inform her of how done he is with their shit. "Even after knowing you two for as long as I have, you both still manage to baffle the fuck out of me, sometimes," he mutters to himself, ignoring Aoi's curious head tilt and her mirthful chortle.

"Anyway," Kou starts after a few minutes of companionable silence, beginning to pile together the rubbish on the table onto her tray, "Pop Rocks wishes to suffer the consequences of defeat via Dead Punches Two. I feel like beating me is one of his top priorities in whatever bucket list he has."

Riku huffs, "Fine, might as well. I still have to call my parents and update them on everything." Which, weird. She's pretty sure Mitsumi-oba and Rin-oji would've called him sometime during or after graduation.

As they collectively stand and make their way to one of the bins, she debates on whether or not she should buy more food before they leave. Kou soon decides that, yes, she should, and her two best buddy-pals obediently line up with her at one of the food vendors.

"They haven't called you recently?" she questions while they wait. Riku glances at her as he casually adjusts the headphones around his neck because he's all cool and shit with his modern hip-hop vibe.

He shrugs, placing his other hand in his pants pocket. "They called to congratulate me during graduation, but they had to go shortly after," he explains, briefly glaring at a stranger that nearly smacks into his shoulder. "Something about the village they were in having bad reception."

She hums, "Makes sense." Shifting on her feet, she shoves her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants before remembering, "Also, you need to get milk."

Kou laughs when she sees the sheer amount of annoyance that abruptly appears on Riku's face. "Did that dipshit fucking drink it all again?"

. . .

* * *

. . .

"I'm back," Riku calls as he opens the entrance door to the Bakugou home. "Kou and Aoi are here, too, taking up space."

Kou lets Aoi enter first before she steps inside and closes the door behind them. "Are you calling us fat, bruh?" she queries with a grin, tempted by the idea of flinging her shoes at the back of Riku's knees. She'll have to untie the shoelaces first, though. "Because it sounds like you're calling us fat."

She can practically hear the sneer in his voice when he retorts with, " _You_ should be, you pig." Which, true, but fortunately for the lot of them, they're _all_ beautiful, lean muscle. High metabolisms and intense training schedules do that to people. "If you two weren't filthy fucking rich, I'm pretty sure you'd be dead already from starvation." Also true, so yay for Pro Hero wealth. It _was,_ like, the main reason why her family ̶ as in, like, great-grandparents and shit ̶ decided to become Heroes in the first place. Death by starvation isn't fun, after all.

"Naoru would be dead, too," Aoi helpfully adds as he simply toes his shoes off with little effort. "Then tou-san and I would be irreversibly devastated. So, yes, it's good that we're not struggling via financial issues." She can feel the weight of his ̶ soft and yet somehow still piercing? ̶ gaze on her head as she kneels down to untie her shoelaces. Probably thinking about dark, alternate timelines in which she and Naoru-oji are dead and gone. He's so cute, honestly.

Her response to his statement is interrupted when Mitsuki-oba abruptly appears in the foyer. "Yo, Rikuto, welcome back!" greets the vivacious woman, adding in an affectionate and loud slap on her nephew's unmarked shoulder. She gets a vaguely irritated grunt as a response, but it's ignored as she instead focuses on her two guests. "And yo, Koukan, Aoi! It's been a while since I've seen the two of you ratbags. How goes the daily life?"

Kou raises a hand and waggles her fingers at the address, while Aoi does the same, though with less enthusiasm in his finger waggling. "Yo, Mitsuki-oba. We've been good, you know. Training and shit, like always," she replies after placing her shoes off to the side and standing back up to her full height. "But Naoru-oji and Yugami-oji have been busy with, like, UA preparations lately, right? They haven't been able to spend much alone time together, so Aoi and I were like, 'let's all have a chill time before school starts.'"

"Setting them up for a long-awaited date, are you?" Mitsuki-oba grins knowingly at her as Riku silently wanders down the hall to put away the milk and probably chat with Masaru-oji.

"You know it," Kou returns with bared upper teeth and snapping finger guns. "They say it's going to be a busy year, what with All Might becoming a teacher and all. The faculty will have their hands full with getting the media off their backs."

Technically, All Might's employment to UA is meant to be a secret until school officially starts, but she trusts Mitsuki-oba not to make a fuss. (Her uncles should also stop giving them information that's meant to be a secret, but whatever. That'd be lame.)

The older woman nods in agreement, folding her arms as she leans against the wall. "I'm not surprised. The media's always been comprised of annoying fucks, in my opinion," she remarks, lifting one hand to wave it in dismissal. "It took them three fucking months to get off Katsuki's back after that shitty sludge incident. Praising how powerful his Quirk is; how he should consider these Pro Heroes' offers of hiring him as a Sidekick in the future." Mitsuki-oba scowls, baring her teeth and really emphasising how much Pop Rocks takes after her. "Asking shit like, 'what was it like to be held captive and nearly asphyxiated by sentient sewer slime?' The fuck kind of question is that to ask a teenager who's recently gone through a traumatic event?"

Both Kou and Aoi simultaneously tilt their heads in response to the rhetorical question. There's little doubt to the fact that they're both thinking of what their guardians have said to describe the media. News reporters and journalists, in particular. Flashing lights, everyone crowding around and shouting controversial questions in hopes of an answer they can fit into their narrative. Luckily, Naoru-oji and Yugami-oji have done their best to keep her and Aoi out of the media's eyes. (Especially her. Naoru-oji becomes almost neurotic at the mere idea of the world catching wind of her 'story.' The amount of attention their family received after tou-san's death was intense enough as it was, apparently.)

"Yeah," is Kou's eventual reply. "They're high-key insensitive dicks most of the time," she shrugs in answer, putting her hands in her pockets and shifting her weight onto her other foot. "Interesting narratives override respecting boundaries. Not that I'm one to talk, really; being an insensitive dick is my way of life."

Life's more fulfilling when one gives very little shits about what society wants from them. It's also more interesting when there's a bitch boy called Pop Rocks around to be constantly shat on.

Mitsuki-oba gives an uproarious laugh at that, even pushing off the wall to smack Kou's shoulder. "You crack me up, you little turd," she huffs, reaching up to ruffle both teens' hairs and deftly avoiding Aoi's horns with a practised sort of ease. Though, they'll always remember the first time she tried and cut herself on one of the sharp tips, much to blue boy's concern.

He could lean over and someone might accidentally impale themselves on them. It's probably a legitimate point of anxiety on his end, but Kou finds the idea amusing.

Just as Mitsuki-oba's about to open her mouth to say something else, the sound of a door abruptly busting open and thudding into the wall from upstairs interrupts her. The look of offended aggravation that immediately takes over her face is something Kou will never tire of.

"Oi, you fuckin' hag!" calls Pop Rocks, his footfalls inordinately loud as he makes his way to the top of the staircase. "Stop wastin' Head Change's time, she's got other shit like losin' to me to do!"

The fiery woman whirls around so quickly that a wave of air whips both Kou and Aoi in the face. "The fuck did you just say, you little piece of shit?! Learn some fucking patience, or I'll come up there and beat your ass!"

"Fuckin' try it! I'll punch you in the goddamn tit, bitch!"

" _Hah?!_ You little fuck!"

Aoi yawns, unruffled as always. "Are we staying for dinner?" he asks Kou as the two blondes continue to bicker amongst themselves. "It might give Naoru and tou-san the chance to have a dinner date."

She hums at the possibility, scratching at an itch behind her ear as she appreciates the rambunctious atmosphere of the Bakugou household. "Yeah, that'd be mad. Yo, Mitsuki-oba, can we stay for dinner?" She has to raise her voice a little to be heard, but she does manage to get the older woman's attention.

Said older woman's ill-tempered behaviour completely shifts into something less, _'I'll kill you with my high-heel, damn cockroach,'_ and more, _'shit's lit, fam, I'm down.'_ "Of course!" Mitsuki-oba exclaims, as if the whole concept of asking her for permission is silly. It probably is, at this point. "It's good timing, actually. Bought a lot of groceries today, so we should have enough to satiate you. For a little while, at least."

Pop Rocks finally makes an appearance by stomping down the stairs to bestow upon them his magnificent glare of doom and, "The fuck? You know she eats like a fuckin' gobbler, idiot hoe."

Kou laughs as his mother wastes no time to smack him on the back of his head. "Manners, fuckmunch! I'll shove soap in your fucking mouth, you know I will!"

"Go die in a hole, shitty thot!"

"She doesn't make noise when she eats, though," Aoi murmurs, more to himself than Pop Rocks because the latter, for the most part, ignores the former's existence entirely. "Or," he tilts his head in a speculative manner that's endearing as fuck, "did he not mean it like that?"

With an amused smile, she pats his back as an implication that they start migrating upstairs. "It'll remain a mystery of the world," Kou teases before flicking Pop Rocks in the temple when she's close enough. He scowls at her, baring his teeth like a wild animal and attempting to painfully smack away her hand. He fails, of course. "C'mon, plebeian, you have to lose, like, fifteen times before we do any of that good dining shit."

"I don't have to do _shit_ , you fuck," he retorts, disengaging from his mother ̶ who encourages the losing shebang with a toothy grin ̶ to engage with Kou instead. It's a little hard when he has to follow her up the stairs, though. "And the fuck is that shit on your bicep?"

She glances over her shoulder to find him glaring at her new tattoo as if it's both perplexing and offending. "A tattoo, Pop Rocks," she replies, in that teasingly patronising manner that she often employs whenever he's involved. In response, he clicks his tongue and shoves her further up the stairs, prompting Aoi to teleport the rest of the way up lest she accidentally trips into him.

"I fuckin' know what it is, dipshit," Pop Rocks retorts as she chuckles, shoving his way past her when they reach the top of the stairs and making his way to his room. "I'm askin' why you and Blue Balls are both matchin' with Riku's shitty ink."

Following him into his space, she's once again reminded of how neat it is in comparison to her own room. So, to mess up the status quo, Kou dumps her bag by the foot of his bed and practically dives onto the mattress. "Celebratory tattoos for us all getting into UA because badassery and the Power of Friendship," she summarises, rolling around to mess up the covers and hearing him growl like some kind of territorial mutt. Aoi soon joins her, moving her legs out of the way to sit with his back against the wall. After gently putting her legs over his lap, he pulls out his phone to text Yugami-oji about their plans.

Pop Rocks practically slams into his desk chair before setting up the TV and game console. "Fuck off," he scoffs, carelessly tossing the second controller over his shoulder. She catches it instinctually before it can smack her in the face. "You two got fuckin' recommended, how's that badass?"

"Since there's a large number of recommendations every year, there are evaluation tests to weed through the candidates that are just trying to get in through pure nepotism," Aoi explains, though his gaze is glued to his phone. "Essentially, we've proven our worth to get accepted into UA."

She's pretty sure Naoru-oji has said before that there are six recommended students this year, which is two more than the standard. There have been some exceptions over the years, though, so it's not too unusual.

"Tch, whatever." Pop Rocks skips through the opening sequence of the game and immediately goes into the offline PVP mode when the menu shows up. "Not like it fuckin' matters; I'm goin' to crush you and everyone else there. Just fuckin' wait."

Kou hums, rolling around until her head's near the edge of the bed. Even from an upside-down angle, the resolute expression contorting his face is still mad intense. The whole, like, weirdly severe ambition to become the 'best fuckin' Hero there ever was' is probably one of his best traits, honestly. Makes him very entertaining as a person since there's depth and shit underneath that bitch baby personality. She doesn't really _get it,_ though.

"And yet you still can't beat me at video games," Kou goads. "I thought a Hero was supposed to win at, like, _everything,_ man. Off to a bad start, huh?"

"Do you wanna fuckin' go, Head Change?! I'll beat you into the fuckin' ground!"

"You're the one who hasn't picked a character yet, fam."

. . .

* * *

. . .

"We're home. I hope you're both dressed because we don't need to see such filth," Kou announces as she practically slams the door open just to be a little extra. Having dinner with the Bakugou family always energises her. The dysfunctionality is great. So is the food.

Aoi calmly walks past her, blank-faced and serene because someone could be dying in front of him and he would barely bat an eye. No, wait, that's more her thing. He'd probably panic a little, maybe blink a few times before taking action.

"Excuse me, we both have incredible physiques and you know this, Kou," Naoru-oji immediately retorts from further down the hall. Which, of course, he's right, but still. _The joke._ A loud, dramatic sigh sounds out and is then followed by, "I suppose I'll just eat the portion of food that I graciously saved for you, then. Why do we house such a fiend, Yu?"

Kou chuckles as she removes her shoes before making her way to the kitchen with Aoi in tow. She hears the soft clink of a mug before, "We could send her to your father's place. Or her mother's. Although, both are in different prefectures."

"No," is Aoi and Naoru-oji's simultaneous rejection, while she instead opts to go with, "Wow, rude. Here I thought you loved me."

Her two uncles turn to greet her and her best buddy-pal once they make their appearance from the end of the hall, the couple looking both relaxed and casual. Usually, they both tend to wear their respective costumes more often than not, so it's nice to see them look a little more refreshed.

Yugami-oji smiles ̶ or smirks, either or ̶ as he takes another sip of his tea, looking all classy and shit as he leans against the island counter. (One day, she's going to get Aoi to shed his punk rock-ish style for a day and make him look fancy as fuck like his father.) "Did you have fun annoying Rikuto's cousin?" he inquires, his smile widening slightly when Naoru-oji chuckles from his place at the other side of the counter. Where the food is in a real danger of being stolen by him.

Humming in confirmation, Kou beelines for one of the stools while Aoi goes for the fridge to put away the Coke they've bought on the way home.

"Always, man," she replies, grabbing the plate of steak and dragging it closer to her.

"He bought a new game," Aoi elaborates, rummaging through the fridge until he finds the strawberries. "I assume it was another attempt to one-up Kou by learning the controls and movesets before she could." Closing the fridge door, he teleports to the stool next to her and sets down the container of strawberries on the counter. "He has to buy another controller again, so his efforts were in vain."

She always offers to buy another one for him, both out of sincerity and because he always declares that he 'doesn't need her fuckin' pity.' "Did you two enjoy your day off?" she hums in question after salting her steak with pink Himalayan salt. Good shit, that pink Himalayan salt.

The two men glance at each other, sharing soft smiles and mushy shimmers in their eyes. (One might think it weird how emotive eyes with black sclera, white irises and invisible pupils can be. But it works, somehow, on both Yugami-oji and Aoi. Shit's cute, man.) It'd be almost sickening if she wasn't a diehard supporter and would probably literally die for her OTP. Her strawberry-eating cousin would agree, one hundred percent.

"It was nice," Naoru-oji smiles, his face brightening to threatening levels and ruining the moment by making a grab for one of her plates. It's by instinct that she manages to smack his hand away and bare all her teeth at him in warning. Threatening smiles and all that, since attempting to frown actually kind of hurts. (According to Riku, having all her teeth on display is ungodly terrifying and worthy of multiple exorcisms.) Her non-mutant uncle laughs, unbothered. "Ooh, I was close. Maybe we should rethink the whole 'week off' idea."

"Well, I mean, like, we're still going to do at least one training session a day, though?" Kou remarks with some uncertainty, looking down at her food and soon opting to go with utensils rather than be a savage. "So, it's not _actually_ a proper week off. For, like, any of us. Right?"

Aoi hums as he inspects a strawberry for imperfections. "It's not," he agrees, deeming the fruit worthy of consumption. "Tou-san and Naoru still have to go to work and we will still train at some point each day. Should we invite Riku since it won't be so strict?"

"Ooh, yes. I'm like, pretty sure he's tired of training with Pop Rocks and having all the dirt around him explode."

Yugami-oji chuckles as Naoru-oji sighs in fond exasperation. "A change of subject, Kou," he starts, walking around the island counter until he's standing beside his husband and across from her. "Have you heard from your brother?"

Kou blinks and she feels Aoi go still from her side. "Uh, no?" is her unsure, somewhat bemused answer, because he's rebuffed her existence for years now and she doesn't really give a shit about converting him to her side. (Not that she can't deal with his personality. Pop Rocks and Riku aren't the most welcoming of people, after all.) Even their mother gave up after the mandatory birthday meetup went awry for three years straight. Good times.

"He's not very fond of us, tou-san," Aoi supplies, his body purposefully relaxing. "Is there much of a point when it's clear that he doesn't want to associate with us?"

"He made it into UA," Naoru-oji reveals, leaning forward and shifting into his whole therapist mode. She stares at him, finding great satisfaction in the meat but little in the abrupt turn of the conversation. Mostly because it makes Aoi uncomfortable. "Maybe this can be a personal assignment for the two of you; to reconnect with him now that you'll all be going to school together."

A mildly vexed sigh escapes her. She gets the whole, 're-acclimating to general life and shit,' but she still finds it difficult to actually _care_ about every aspect. She tries, of course ̶ it's for her own benefit, after all ̶ but it's still, like, mad inconvenient. Especially when she lives with her own psychotherapist and he can check on her at any time.

Aoi seems to be even more vexed than she is, probably because he's not usually meant to participate. Although, it would make sense since those two have, like, some kind of mutual dislike. Which is weird, because it's Aoi and he rarely dislikes anyone. Most of the time, he's entirely indifferent if he's not objectively curious. (Except for tou-san. He'll abhor tou-san even when he's dead.)

"If you want me to," Kou acquiesces, chewing the meat in her mouth and swallowing.

Her best buddy-pal elicits a little sigh before he, too, accepts his fate. "I will try, too. However, I'd like to know why it's necessary for us both." Because there's always a reason for these 'assignments.' Always something that's meant to 'open her ̶ and Aoi's, this time around ̶ eyes' in some way. It doesn't always work, of course, so they keep coming back to certain bits that just refuse to stick. Aoi's clearly aware of this.

Her uncles both smile, though one with pleased relief and the other with almost smug approval that their son and niece are being cooperative. "Kou's is obvious, but you, Aoi," Naoru-oji gestures at Aoi's torso, "need to sort out the hostility that you boys feel towards each other." He then waves a dismissive hand. "Just, get to know him as a person. Figure out why he wants to be a Hero; why he dislikes you two ̶ and us by extension ̶ so much. I'm sure that, with time, the three of you will come to an understanding if you make an effort. Alright?"

Aoi's sulking, she can tell. His demeanour and face barely change, but they've been together so long she's fairly sure that they can sense each other's aura or some shit. She rubs his back to comfort him, which always works in getting him to relax somewhat.

"Right, then. We shall assault him with the Power of Friendship and Family when we can."

Or whenever she can be bothered. Either or.

* * *

✖‿✖

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I'm pretty hyped to be writing for a different fandom, especially BNHA. I've spent months planning shit out, man. So, hopefully, you enjoyed the chapter enough to want to read more. Unfortunately, updates will be sporadic since I'm horrible and my inspiration is a rabid dog that does whatever it wants. Sorry about that. I'll try, at least.

Also giving thanks to my beta, **Senior Coq-on-Face The Third** , who knows fuck all about BNHA but still helped me, anyway. This wouldn't exist without him, man.

Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre. Thank you for reading.


	2. Red Vines

**A/N:** Hey, I'm alive. Thank you to everyone who's decided to stick around for a while. Really appreciate it.

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"Oh, it's Hanhan," Naoru-oji realises as he enters the kitchen to find both Kou and Aoi watching said bicoloured cat eat on the island counter. "It's been a while since we've seen him," he remarks as he makes his way to the pantry. "I was getting worried."

Hanhan doesn't bother to acknowledge the new person in the room, too preoccupied with the expensive cat food that he's devouring to care. Like them, Hanhan's stomach is an endless black hole, which is probably why he gets into so many fights. Survival of the fittest and all.

"He was covered in mud and blood again when he came to us," Aoi explains, his eyes following the idle movements of Hanhan's plume tail. It's so goddamn fluffy that she's not surprised by his enthrallment by it.

"Blood all around his mouth, too," Kou adds, smiling with pride at her bestial buddy-pal. "You go, Hanhan; fuck those weak bitches up." Hanhan elicits some weird guttural snort/growl thing, which she takes as an affirmation of his conviction.

Naoru-oji turns to frown at the cat in mild concern before closing the pantry to approach them. "Is he alright?" he queries, moving around the counter to inspect the semi-feral animal.

"He's fine," Kou answers, waving a dismissive hand as she slides off her seat to go scavenge through the fridge. "I'm low-key sure that he has, like, some kind of regeneration Quirk since he should one hundred percent be dead by now." Considering how much he always comes back with blood matted into his fur, he really should be.

"It's possible, albeit incredibly rare," her uncle considers, likely examining the cat while she decides to take four one-litre bottles of Coke and some ̶ meaning, all ten ̶ toffee apples. "We should just officially adopt him into our home, already; maybe get him a special tracking collar so he's not lost forever if he gets severely hurt on his excursions. If he _does_ have a regeneration Quirk, though, there isn't much point in getting him neutered."

Kou uses her foot to close the fridge door before dumping her stuff on the counter. Hanhan hisses in protest at her uncle's musings, his plate of food licked clean and his fluffy, newly washed fur puffing up as he lifts his head to glare at Naoru-oji.

"He doesn't like collars," Aoi states, reaching out and petting Hanhan to soothe the little beast.

Naoru-oji hums, amused, before turning around to return to the pantry while she returns to her seat. "An ear piercing might work, then. He's a tough one, so I'm sure he can handle the pain. Do you know what breed of cat he is?"

"Turkish Angora, I'm pretty sure," Kou replies, bopping the feline's nose when it comes over to sniff at her toffee apples. He's a unique-looking cat, at any rate. With the way the pattern of his fur is formed and his odd eyes, it's as though two different cats are sharing the same face. (It reminds her of Todoroki, who actually just reminds her of Hanhan.) She wouldn't be surprised if others have been, like, trying to adopt him since he's actually aesthetic as fuck underneath all the filth.

Hanhan croons at her, getting right up in her face as an attempt of persuading her to share. His attempt fails, as it's also the survival of the fittest in their home. Gracefully accepting defeat ̶ since he's smart and has learned over the years ̶ the feline turns to Aoi for love and affection.

"Tou-san will be mildly displeased," murmurs her blue boy as he plays with Hanhan's paws. Kou takes a moment to pull out her phone and take a picture of the wholesome sight, already set on making it her new wallpaper. But Derp-Faced Pug Puppy will always hold a special place in her heart.

"It's good that you'll be moderately displeased with the news I have to tell you, then," Yugami-oji remarks as he teleports into the kitchen and smoothly proceeds to help Naoru-oji prepare lunch like he's always been there. "Or perhaps, more than moderately."

Naoru-oji sighs, clearly aware of what he's on about. Kou stares at them with wary suspicion as she chews through her sixth toffee apple. "It's definitely better to tell them now before they go to school, I suppose."

Yugami-oji smirks as he ties up his long-ass hair of silky wonders ̶ it sheds _everywhere,_ though, holy shit ̶ so that it doesn't snag onto anything. "We've been told of the finalised class arrangements," he reveals as he takes out a bunch of cooking utensils while Naoru-oji gets ingredients. Aoi tenses, prompting Hanhan to meow at him in bemusement. "We thought it appropriate to inform the two of you that you won't be in the same class."

Something sharp pricks at Kou's chest, forcing her to consciously exhale through her teeth as she processes. Aoi, unfortunately, stills entirely.

"I know, baby," Naoru-oji sighs, putting down a giant bag of flour to go and comfort his son. "But it wouldn't make sense to have you both in the same class. There'd be four recommended students in one class and only two in the other, otherwise."

"And your clingy behaviour is unhealthy, so it wouldn't be beneficial to perpetuate it even if we did have a choice to put the two of you together." Yugami-oji turns, with a much too serious blank face as he puts on the 'I'm horny' apron that Naoru-oji bought as a punny joke. Kou flicks the toffee apple core and the stick into the bin as he continues, "If you both want to be Heroes, you can't be crippled by the other's absence."

Aoi continues to remain silent, likely digesting the words, even as Naoru-oji gives him a comforting hug. "At least the two of you will still be going to the same school, right?" the latter tries, leaning back to get a better look at his moderately distressed spawnling. Her heart low-key hurts a lot. "You can still see each other at lunch, during combined Hero class activities and after school. She's not going to disappear for an indefinite amount of time again, Aoi." Or, at least, hopefully not. Last time was abrupt and life-changing enough for everyone.

Hanhan mewls, confused by the change in atmosphere. She quietly shushes him as he jumps onto her shoulder.

Even though it, like, hurt her like a motherfucker, Kou knows that her absence hit him much harder since he's such a blueberry muffin. (She didn't really have time to dwell, after all, so it's probably why she deals better.) It was basically expected that the two of them would stick to each other like super glue once she came back; her uncles probably didn't do anything back then because it's harder to be impartial when it's family.

Even though she's not surprised by this inevitability, it's still mad lame. They were already lucky enough to be in the same classes during junior high, so it'd be, like, some kind of miracle if they were in the same class in high school as well.

"I know," Aoi mutters, prompting Naoru-oji to let go as her devil boy leans on her shoulder. "I understand." He turns towards her, revealing the slight furrow of his brow and the clear shine of disquietude in his eyes.

"Ugh," Kou groans, slapping a hand to her chest as his blueberry cinnamon rolls aura mercilessly assaults her. "Aoi, no, stop. It hurts, man."

As Aoi leans over to press his temple against hers, Hanhan deftly moves to her other shoulder. "It hurts me, too."

"You're being dramatic," Yugami-oji bluntly states. Which, like, true, but also an unnecessary statement. Naoru-oji saves the day by walking over and backhanding his shoulder hard enough to make the slightly taller man flinch. "Is it truly necessary to hit me over a true statement?"

Running a hand through his perpetually stylish hair, Naoru-oji takes a moment to sigh before bestowing his partner with his threateningly pleasant smile. "You weren't much different in high school, I remember," he teases as he resumes in his task of taking out ingredients. Yugami-oji tenses at the reminder. "Actually, you weren't much different in junior high, either. And weren't you especially dramatic whenever I dated someone? You know, because it was years before you figured out that you actually had feelings and ̶ "

" _Naoru_." The back of Yugami-oji's blue neck darkens, the pigment travelling up to the tip of his elf ears. Kou and Naoru-oji ̶ Hanhan, as well, in his own demented way ̶ snicker while Aoi hums with a mildly petty sort of amusement. (The day he laughs is the day she dies, because she won't be able to handle such power. Her chest will just, like, implode and she'll be dead. It'll be great.)

Naoru-oji smiles as he reaches over to idly play with Yugami-oji's ponytail while the latter frowns at him. "And then your declaration of love was even more dramatic; incredibly deadpan to the point of hilarity, but nonetheless dramatic. I'll never forget it." Her mutant uncle frowns as if to say, _'you better fucking not, how dare?'_ which her non-mutant uncle seems to understand perfectly, judging by his snort.

"You going to give me a dramatic declaration of love, Aoi?" Kou jokingly queries as she gives him the last two of her toffee apples, which he accepts with a small murmur of thanks.

Then, he proceeds to stare into her soul for a few moments. "I don't know what constitutes as suitably dramatic," he eventually answers, looking down at the toffee apples as if disappointed with himself. Just as she's about to reassure him, he looks back up to declare, "But I love you, Kou. I'll follow you wherever you go because I don't like being left behind." He tilts his head. "Is that satisfactory?"

Kou grunts in pain, slapping a hand to her chest again as she leans on the counter for support. "That was mad fucking cute," she breathes, Hanhan jumping onto the counter to meow at her in concern. Which is just as precious as Aoi, honestly. "Yeah, man," she assures him, nudging his temple with hers. "It's perfect. I love you, too. I'd murder people and burn down cities for you if you asked."

"Please, don't," both her uncles warn in unison. Aoi, at least, seems pleased by her own 'dramatic' declaration, which is the main goal so it's all good.

. . .

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. . .

Bringing the over-bed desk ̶ that she adores, because who needs desks that are separated from their beds? ̶ closer to her, Kou pats Aoi's knee so that it doesn't smack into him. He obediently readjusts, his eyes still glued to his PS Vivere as he straightens out his legs. Probably playing one of those mad hard puzzle games to distract himself from the inevitability of going to a different class than her.

"So, like, who do you think you'll get; me or Aoi?" Kou asks the corner of her laptop screen, where the scowling image of Riku is located. She bares her upper teeth at him when his glasses do their threatening glint thing. Everything he does is an art form of the bitchy variety, she swears.

Her beanie boy shifts, pushing up his glasses as he looks at something else on his screen. She does the same, looking down at her keyboard and admiring the rainbow backlights. It's not new ̶ seeing as the whole laptop is a birthday present from two years ago ̶ but she always has time to just stare at it and appreciate.

Riku clicks his tongue, prompting her to lift head and focus in on the faint sounds of Pop Rocks and Mitsuki-oba arguing downstairs. "Hopefully, it's Aoi," he eventually replies, his mouse clicking away. "You and I both know you'd cope better by pissing off your classmates and forcing them to accept your existence. Aoi has no fucking clue on how to make friends and he's always stuck to either you or me."

"Yeah," Kou sighs, patting her best buddy-pal's knee before deciding to browse through different compression garment brands. She already gets custom sleeves and socks, but it's fun to look around and see what's available overseas. "Only thing worse would be if he's with my brother without either of us to back him up."

Aoi exhales, pausing his game to stare at her side-profile. "You've jinxed it, Kou," he murmurs, his monotone giving way to the vaguest of whiny tones. Even though Aoi suffering is Kou suffering, she can't help but find whiny Aoi so fucking cute.

Riku huffs out a short laugh. "It shouldn't be as bad since you'll be in a class where kids are actively trying to become Pro Heroes." Kou sees him plug his headphones in and put them on from her peripheral. "I doubt they'd let him get away with his shit-stirring." She makes eye contact, then, clearly able to see him silently question if it's a genetic trait from their mother. It might be, in all honesty, since they've got different fathers and all. "If he gets too annoying, just knock him out with a good fucking chop to the back of the neck. It'll help on the road to befriending him."

"Ooh," Kou hums, nodding her head in consideration. "A good suggestion, my beanie boy. Make sure to record it so I can have good memories, yeah?"

"If it becomes necessary to knock him out then yes, I will," Aoi promises, which is just so pure and wonderful that it hurts. Like, a lot. "It's just that…" Looking towards him, he lowers his head to stare down at his PS Vivere, many complicated thoughts likely going through his head at light speed. "I feel anxious. Logically, I know that I'm being childish…"

Kou chuckles, reaching over to grab the side of his head and pull him close. He gives no resistance, even moving towards her as if on instinct. Their temples knock against each other a little harder than intended as a result, but it's cool since they've both got hard heads.

"Don't stress too much, man," she advises, idly playing with one of his elf earrings ̶ that Naoru-oji happily allowed, even at the cost of Yugami-oji's irritation ̶ while he plays with a lock of her hair that's almost poking him in the eye. "We're only, like, a text or phone call away if you need us to come to your class and fuck a bitch up."

"I'm not going to beat the shit out of your brother within a classroom, Kou," Riku informs her as he pushes up his glasses. "Outside of it, however, is negotiable." Because, like, they've met before, at those failed birthday parties. Partly why shit got fucked up so badly. It was pretty fucking mad. She has pictures and everything on her wall and on her phone.

Aoi hums. "Do you think he has friends he can call to do the same?" he wonders, putting his PS Vivere on the desk before shifting until he's lying on her thigh. She pushes a lock of hair that's tickling his nose out of the way before wondering if she could pull off a side-part for him like hers. It's split down the middle since his horns are in the way, but she could try. Or… maybe not, she decides, since the weird feeling would bother him, but he wouldn't do anything because she did it.

"Probably," Riku considers. "If Kou can make friends despite being Kou, then who's to say that he couldn't? He's probably less of a fuckhead when he's not feeling threatened."

Kou lets out an uproarious laugh at that, throwing her head back as she appreciates the truth behind such a statement. Manami ̶ otherwise known as her mother, but calling her kaa-san is mad weird ̶ has said before that he's usually more calm and collected when by himself.

"But Kou's only befriended Bakugou outside of our childhood," Aoi retorts as he grabs his game console off the desk. "And she befriended him by denouncing him as 'Best Boy' before he mentally broke down after a brief brawl to unsuccessfully assert dominance." Which, like, the memory just causes her to laugh harder, and she has to make sure she doesn't accidentally smack Aoi in the face with her elbow.

Riku elicits a sigh that's a mix between exasperated and amused. "It still counts, Aoi, mostly because I don't think Katsuki can have actual friends without having fought them at least once."

"I _was_ considering on getting Todoroki in on the whole, Power of Friendship shebang," Kou reveals once she's calmed down enough to resume browsing.

Riku's face contorts into something akin to bemused disgust, his eyes narrowing on her image in question. "Todoroki from junior high?" he rhetorically queries. "What the fuck? Why? We weren't even in the same class and he embodied the essence of a loner."

"He reminds me of Hanhan," she explains with a smile, because her beanie-wearing best buddy-pal gives her an expression that clearly asks, _'are you fucking high?'_ and it's beautiful.

"That's fucking it? He reminds you of your half-feral cat that gets into fights all the time? Have you ever even talked to him before?"

Deciding to have a look at some games on the Mist app, Kou responds with, "Eh, maybe two times? One time was when I asked him if that cold soba shit was good. You know, because he was eating it at lunch and I was curious, right? But then he, like, stopped and stared at me like I was some kind of indecipherable alien for a literal ten whole seconds. Then when he finally said yes, he immediately resumed eating like some kind of lagging NPC. It's a fond memory." The other time, he probably doesn't remember. He's clearly never recognised her from back then, either, but hey, understandable, considering the circumstances and all. "I think I might have, like, a partiality for people with questionable social skills. Maybe it's just because people with mad social skills don't know how to deal with me so they just avoid me entirely."

"Sounds accurate," Riku sardonically agrees. "Then why didn't you go bother him with your presence? You obviously wouldn't be bothered by his social ineptitude and cold attitude."

Kou idly scratches the back of her head, absently pulling some loose strands of pale lavender when she's done. "Too much effort," is her honest answer. "Boy's got mad issues and we were in different classes, so, like, nah. He should be in the Department of Heroes, too; so I can, like, bother him if we're in the same class. Otherwise, still nah." Because as much as she raves on about the Power of Friendship, she does have a few issues with actually extending the friendship card to other people. Probably because she's selfish and the process of getting to know someone new is mad arduous.

She's also intimidating to most ̶ especially when she's paired with her best buddy-pals, whom are both as equally unapproachable as her by themselves ̶ and her peers didn't seem to find her very likeable in general, so there's that. (Though, that may be because she still has a hard time figuring out ̶ and caring about ̶ how to shift her personality to accommodate to someone else's social needs. She's kind of a wilful bitch, Naoru-oji has said before. Which, yeah, she can't deny.)

"Want to play a game, man? We can exercise our insane teamwork skills together and shit."

"Yeah, fine. But I'm having dinner in about an hour, just so you know. I'm going to go to bed early since school starts tomorrow." Riku stretches, adjusting his headphones, beanie and glasses before asking, "What game?"

"All good, same here." She and Aoi have to do morning training, so they usually sleep early and wake early, regardless. "Begone Three? I heard it got an update."

"It did," he confirms. "Let me update it, then."

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. . .

Kou cracks her knuckles as she leans back and brings her legs up onto the car seat before crossing them. "It feels weird that we're all going to the same place," she remarks, mostly because she's used to splitting when they drop her and Aoi off to their junior high school.

"Maybe you should start walking to school for more training," Naoru-oji cheerfully suggests from the front passenger seat. "It's fifteen minutes by car, but I'm sure you two could make it in the same time on foot."

"Yeah, but, like, just because we _can,_ doesn't mean that we should," Kou replies, looking out the window to find Kamui Woods jumping about in the air for a moment. Sometimes, she wonders how often he gets jokes about whether he's got wood or not. "Right, Aoi?"

Aoi hums in agreement from her right side. "Yes, since we already do morning training and we all have the same destination. It would also use up Kou's energy reserves and it could be a detriment to any upcoming school activities."

Naoru-oji chuckles fondly at his son's no-nonsense demeanour while Yugami-oji answers with, "She's allowed to eat during class time since UA's reputation of having a lot of freedom isn't untrue. But perhaps it's best that you don't start walking to school until you actually memorise the route."

"It'll happen one day," Naoru-oji sighs, because love is pain and he wants them to feel the burn of muscle overuse. "Have to get them gains, don't you?"

"I got them gains, man," she retorts, idly scratching at an itch on her neck. Looking over to Aoi, she takes a few moments to, once again, admire him in his UA uniform. It's so goddamn great and shit on him; he's looking all regal like some kind of cold, devil prince.

Her blue boy turns towards her, blinking and noticeably perking up at the realisation of having her attention. Her heart, man. "Are you admiring my visage?" he inquires with genuine curiosity, which elicits a mirthful snort from Naoru-oji and a small huff of amusement from Yugami-oji.

"Yeah, bruh," she confirms with a smile, reaching over to pick out a bit of lint from his shoulder. "You look mad fine. We're going to have to take selfies with Riku, I'm sure you know." Riku would look good, she knows. Pop Rocks might look nice, too. Maybe if he, like, decides to do that thing where he pulls up his pants.

Aoi nods, his eyes travelling down her body to examine her appearance in return. "The skirt and your thigh-high compression socks make you look more feminine than your usual androgynous style," he notes, tilting his head his as he stares at the skirt with speculative intensity. It's not all that surprising that he's interested in the thing since she's never actually bothered to wear one before. (Their junior high didn't have a uniform requirement, so there wasn't a need to wear them back then, either.) "Regardless of what you wear, you always look aesthetically pleasing to me." And, like, what an awkward but extremely fitting and endearing way for him to compliment her. She approves. "Is it uncomfortable?"

Kou waves her hand in dismissal, "Nah, it's not too bad. Breezy as fuck, but I've got modesty shorts on so I don't accidentally flash someone." Which is, like, a mild shame. It would've been entertaining to see how people would react, but then Naoru-oji had to ruin her plans and remind her that that's a crime. "Shame, that."

"Heroes don't flash people, Kou," Yugami-oji sighs before he makes a left turn, UA becoming much clearer as they get closer.

Naoru-oji turns in his seat to look at her, and she takes the moment to uncross her legs and strike a pose while leaning on Aoi. "Fabulous," he laughs, smacking her shoe away when she attempts to bop him on the nose with her foot. "And such class. But while you both look great in your uniforms, I want to see your Hero costumes." He smacks his husband's shoulder in his excitement, receiving a slight frown that he ignores in return. "Little spawnlings are going to look so cute in the costumes your company made them."

"We'll take photos when we get them," Kou promises, glancing at the gate that beeps ominously when they pass it to get into UA's grounds. "I'm ready for it. I was mad specific about all the little things." Being practical is just as important as making a fashion statement, after all. Aoi and Riku even let her design theirs, too, so she's fucking hyped.

"Alright," Yugami-oji says as they park in the faculty parking area. "Get out."

As they exit the car with all their shit in tow, Kou takes a moment to take in just how large UA is when she's actually within its grounds. "You know, I'm curious about the gate, right?" she states as they start walking to the nearest entrance. "It doesn't seem like it'd be that hard to bypass."

"There're a few other precautions set in place, just in case," is Naoru-oji's brief explanation as they enter the building. The two adults pause, then, turning towards each other and looking as though they're about to split. "Kou and I have to go to the principal's office; you're going to the Development Studio, right?"

Yugami-oji nods while Kou and Aoi look to each other in concern for the other. It's probably because of her background. "I'll take Aoi with me before letting him loose on campus, lest he follows after you."

"Text Riku," Kou suggests, patting her blueberry muffin on the back. He nods, albeit somewhat dejectedly, pulling out his earphones and phone to prepare for the horrors of school life. "I'll see you at lunch?" she offers, opening her arms in invitation. He takes the offer, making sure not to accidentally entangle his earphones on something in the process.

"I'll see you, Kou," he murmurs, the vibe of a sad puppy pushing through his monotonous aura. It hurts her soul.

After a farewell kiss, her two uncles go off in separate directions. Kou sighs as she turns to follow after her non-mutant uncle, his long stride easy to catch up with since she's got the long legs, too.

"So, are you actually allowed to tell me more about the precautions or nah?" she wonders, sliding her hands into her skirt pockets as they walk down the hall. The glass walls and the massive, immaculate interior give her weird vibes; like she doesn't really belong here because of how bright everything is. It's kind of amusing to think about, since it's true and all.

Placing his own hands into the pockets of his lab coat, Naoru-oji hums in thought before giving a response. "No," he answers, with that overly jovial smile of his. "Especially not to you," he nudges her shoulder with his own, "for obvious reasons."

Kou chuckles, unsurprised by his answer. "Rude," she jokes. "I'm clearly, like, the most trustworthy of citizens by far."

"Maybe one day," he laughs, pulling out a hand from his pocket to ruffle the back of her already mussed up hair. (Luckily, messy bob cuts are a thing.) "But until then, I still have to spend a few more years reforming you. Poor me, I know." They exchange shit-eating grins at that, soon the two of them coming to stand before a door with a plaque to indicate that it's the entrance to the principal's office. Kou stands to the side while her uncle knocks on it, "Principal Nedzu? We're here."

Opening the door, Naoru-oji lets her enter first before entering himself and closing the door behind him. Seated behind a moderately large desk, she finds some kind of humanoid animal thing amicably smiling at her. She blinks, processes, and then wonders if he'll let her touch his paws.

As if he's read her mind, the humanoid animal thing jumps down from his seat to walk around the desk and offer her his hand. (The other is neatly tucked behind his back, and it'd be easy for him to hide a weapon from her view. But then, she reminds herself, he's the principal of the best Hero school in the country and it would be mad stupid to stab his own student.)

"Good morning, Naoru-kun! Konishi-kun!" Principal Nedzu greets them, his voice high-pitched but surprisingly not unpleasant. "I've heard a lot about you. Here, I'm sure you would like to touch my paw. I understand that my peculiar appearance as some kind of mouse/dog/bear creature would intrigue you greatly."

"Been snitching, hey, Naoru-oji?" Kou chuckles as she immediately takes the offer, crouching down to start playing with his paw. It's soft and she feels somewhat fulfilled in life, though she's got to say that Hanhan's paws are still softer. Somehow. (Little shit's probably chilling at home now, surrounded by all the exotic cat food that'll be gone before the end of the day.)

Naoru-oji takes a seat on the nearby lounges with a coffee table in between. "Oh, yes, I've told him all your secrets. He even knows your greatest weakness, as well; raw oysters," he teases, to which she responds with a dramatic gasp of betrayal.

"No!"

"Yes. I've betrayed you, I know."

She and Principal Nedzu chuckle before she decides to let him have his paw back so that she can go and drop down on Naoru-oji. He catches her ̶ and her bag, which is full of beef jerky, among other things ̶ with a small grunt, but doesn't actually try to push her off. Probably because the humanoid animal is present.

"It's nice to see such strong familial bonds," Principal Nedzu nods to himself as he manages to procure a tea set before taking a seat across from them. "And looking at the two of you, now, you do look very alike."

"I look blind and high?" Naoru-oji questions with a tone of merriment, finally deciding to push her into the empty space beside him. Kou shifts, removing her bag and placing it on the floor before she crosses her legs on the couch. "Because I'm fairly sure I don't look like either."

Which is no doubt true, but she supposes their colour schemes are similar. They're both pale as fuck, both purple-haired ̶ pale lavender and iris purple, specifically ̶ and blue-eyed. Main difference is the fact that his irises are royal blue, his pupils black whilst hers are powder blue and white, respectively. Which is a perfect combination for when one wants to look blind. So, yes, she permanently looks both high _and_ blind because life is a joy. It's honestly magnificent; genetics has truly blessed her. (She doesn't have a badass scar on her left cheek like Naoru-oji, though, but she's got some in less visible areas, so it's cool.)

"It's low-key lame," Kou chuckles, readjusting a bit since it feels like she's crumpling her skirt and that's likely a bad thing. "I could've been your clone, like how Aoi is to Yugami-oji." Albeit, Aoi's style is more reminiscent of Naoru-oji's grungy hot doctor vibe. "Or would I be tou-san's?" She can't really remember what he looks like since Naoru-oji doesn't put any pictures of his brother on display. Their colour scheme was similar, too, at the very least.

"Ah," Principal Nedzu pipes up after taking a sip of his tea. Kou tilts her head, feeling a noticeable shift in the atmosphere. "Excuse my rudeness, Konishi-kun, but you still call him that? I was previously informed that you didn't have the best relationship with him."

Naoru-oji props an elbow on the armrest, donning that ominous smile of his whenever he's in a bad mood. He says nothing, though, so she answers, "I guess I'm used to it? Like, it'd be weird to call him by his name like I do with Manami." Scratching the back of her neck, Kou soon reaches for her bag to pull out a packet of beef jerky. "So, we really _are_ going to have, like, one of those mandatory chats to make sure I'm somewhat morally aligned and shit, right?"

"I'm afraid so, Konishi-kun," the principal replies with an apologetic smile, looking down into his teacup before making eye contact with her again. "I apologise for the inconvenience."

Kou swallows the piece of jerky in her mouth before responding with, "All good, bruh. You're doing your job." She can't begrudge him for that, even if it's mildly annoying.

At least he's a cute dog/bear/mouse thing to look at and she's got the beef jerky to satiate her for the time being.

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 **A/N:** Apologies for the chill sort of pacing, I wanted to focus a little more on family dynamics before jumping straight into canon events. And again, thank you to my beta, **Senior Coq-on-Face the Third,** for reading through this while possibly dying of Japanese yellow fever. Love is pain.

Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre. Thank you for reading.


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